Double pawl arrangements are known in the latching art. The double pawl arrangement may utilize a first pawl and ratchet set connected to a second pawl and ratchet. The connection may be configured such that only a portion of the forces experienced by the first pawl and ratchet set are applied to the second pawl and ratchet set, thus requiring only a relatively low effort to release the latch. While this is desirable, it also leads to the problem that an unbalanced force may unintentionally release the latch in unintended circumstances such as a crash situation. It would be desirable to preclude such events.
In addition, in double pawl arrangements both pawls must be reset to their locked positions. Biasing means such as springs are conventionally employed for such purpose. But over time, these biasing forces may degrade, or may be insufficient occasionally to cope with other impediments to returning the pawls to their respective locked positions. An elegant, low cost solution is sought to such problems.